Post-surgical pain, physical activity and satisfaction with the decision to undergo hernia surgery : a prospective qualitative investigation

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Joseph Messner\u27s organ music: evolution of a style

Joseph Messner (1893-1969) achieved fame in Europe for his contributions to the sacred concerts of the Salzburg Festspiele following World War II. In his early career, however, Messner earned initial acclaim as a recitalist and renowned improviser on the organ. Messner composed and published several organ works prior to World War II which contain style elements of late-romanticism and an emerging neoclassicism. This paper analyses the works in regards to form, stylistic elements, and performance issues in addition to establishing the historical contexts from which they originated

Women\u27s access to the superintendency: Pathways from the elementary ranks

The purpose of this research was to describe the experiences of six women superintendents who began their careers as elementary principals. The central question was: What can we learn from the lived experience of women who came from a background as elementary educators and advanced to the superintendency in a variety of district contexts within Michigan’s traditional public school system? The research design was a qualitative, interpretive, multiple case study approach using the data collection method of interviewing. Two conceptual frameworks – expectations states theory and feminist poststructuralism – provided the context for this research. Portraits of each of the six participants were shared to provide detailed descriptions. Four emergent themes common across all six participants were revealed. Those findings were: 1. All subjects got initiated to the idea of obtaining administrative positions through an external event and/or person of influence who instilled in them a belief about their potential as an administrator; 2. Most considered their elementary backgrounds as an advantage to their beliefs and strengths as a leader, which developed into understanding how the K-12 system works for students; 3. All participants raised the issue of the challenge of relating to secondary teachers - the steep learning curve around scheduling and staffing and also learning about a secondary climate and culture – as needed to be successful as superintendents coming from an elementary background; 4. In seeking or accepting a superintendency, there was a significant draw to a home district or region with family ties. In addition to these common themes, it was found that the timing of a woman’s decision to apply for a superintendent position was dependent on certain variables lining up at the right moment. There was also a strong appreciation and desire for mentorship for women as they decide to enter administration and move along their career paths. Several recommendations resulted from the findings of this study, including ones for women aspirants to the superintendency, university preparation programs, and search firm consultants and school board members. These recommendations addressed the need to purposively study women’s issues in leadership to further understand how women make decisions about their career paths

Global Epidemiology of Lung Cancer.

While lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for many years in the United States, incidence and mortality statistics - among other measures - vary widely worldwide. The aim of this study was to review the evidence on lung cancer epidemiology, including data of international scope with comparisons of economically, socially, and biologically different patient groups. In industrialized nations, evolving social and cultural smoking patterns have led to rising or plateauing rates of lung cancer in women, lagging the long-declining smoking and cancer incidence rates in men. In contrast, emerging economies vary widely in smoking practices and cancer incidence but commonly also harbor risks from environmental exposures, particularly widespread air pollution. Recent research has also revealed clinical, radiologic, and pathologic correlates, leading to greater knowledge in molecular profiling and targeted therapeutics, as well as an emphasis on the rising incidence of adenocarcinoma histology. Furthermore, emergent evidence about the benefits of lung cancer screening has led to efforts to identify high-risk smokers and development of prediction tools. This review also includes a discussion on the epidemiologic characteristics of special groups including women and nonsmokers. Varying trends in smoking largely dictate international patterns in lung cancer incidence and mortality. With declining smoking rates in developed countries and knowledge gains made through molecular profiling of tumors, the emergence of new risk factors and disease features will lead to changes in the landscape of lung cancer epidemiology

BEYOND THE COAL DIVIDE: THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF NATURAL RESOURCE EXTRACTION IN CENTRAL APPALACHIA

During the last several years far southwest Virginia, like elsewhere in the central Appalachian region, has faced a decline in all coal mining activity and a subsequent loss of coal mining jobs, meaning that local economies are suffering and the unemployment line is long. In addition, this area continues to face environmental pollution from surface coal mines that are still in operation or have not been reclaimed. Drawing upon anthropological literature on natural resource extraction and economic and environmental inequality, this dissertation highlights the lives of members of a local grassroots environmental organization, as well as other local residents, in a small coal mining community in Appalachia. Complicating and contradicting the “jobs versus environment” dichotomy used by industries, politicians, and academics to position people in “black and white” categories, this dissertation demonstrates that people living within an area where a controversial resource extraction method was used did not take a “hard line” stance on coal mining, but rather took into account the economic, environmental, and cultural risks and benefits associated with the industry’s practices. This dissertation offers a textured account of how local and regional politicians and coal industry executives use their authority--or abuse their power--to garner support for controversial resource extraction practices. Furthermore, this dissertation also demonstrates that support for, or opposition to, surface mining practices (such as mountaintop removal) was also influenced by the different perceptions of the environment held by participants. All respondents expressed a love of the mountains; however their perceptions of pollution and proper use of the land varied greatly. Despite disagreements over coal, all residents expressed a concern over the economy and articulated the need for new economic opportunities beyond coal in order for the region to remain a viable place to live and work

Cultivating Institutional Change: Infusing Principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Everyday Honors College Practices

Envisioning and implementing strategic changes around diversity, equity, and inclusion in honors can be paradoxical. While honors colleges are traditionally regarded as tight-knit communities that serve as centers of curricular and pedagogical innovation, they have also been sites of exclusion because of outdated definitions of excellence based on inequitable presuppositions inherent to the university admissions process. Because many honors programs endeavor to produce publicly engaged graduates, creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable learning environment is a moral imperative. Not only does it provide a safe and welcoming environment for learners, but it also models the type of behavior we want to see in our students. In this chapter, we compare and contrast the strategies for DEI work devised by Westminster College (Utah) and the Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky, noting the various ways these honors colleges prepared and implemented their strategies based on their distinct institutional profiles as, respectively, a small, private liberal arts college and a large, research-intensive, public land-grant university. We also identify how honors colleges might respond to their findings once they have gathered information on students’ lived experiences relative to diversity, equity, and inclusion to achieve a true culture of belonging. Alternate title: Cultivating Institutional Change: Infusing Principles of DEI into Everyday Honors College Practice